The Boy Next Door
by TheLadyPendragon
Summary: Artemis Fowl, bored with most kids his own age, finally meets someone who piques his curiosity. But is Cadel just a puzzle to him, or is he something more? An Artemis FowlxEvil Genius crossover. Not oc. Can read without reading Evil Genius. Will be slash.
1. Prologue

A/N: Okay, so I recently read Catherine Jink's _Evil Genius_, and I'm now reading _Genius Squad_, and it was so good. I've also always been a big _Artemis Fowl_ fan, and let me tell you, I think that the book is right up there with the _Artemis Fowl _series. So, while reading, I kept thinking how much friction and static Artemis and Cadel would have if they ever met, so I decided to write this. The other crossovers I read were too short. Now, I'm aware that a lot of people haven't read _Evil Genius_, (But if you enjoyed Artemis Fowl – and you must have since you're here – then you should give it a shot) so I'm going to give you a little background. This will be spoilerish, but if you want to know what's going on...

Background: Cadel Piggot was sent to a therapist when only seven years old for hacking into several high-security networks. He's known he was adopted since he was old enough to understand, so his adopted parents, the emotionally detached Piggots, took him there. Instead of telling him to _stop_, however, the therapist, Thaddeus Roth, tells him to do whatever he likes as long as he doesn't get caught, and even inspires him to move on to bigger and badder things. The therapist tells him about his biological father, Phineas Darkkon, who is currently in a maximum security prison for attempted world domination – as well as a multitude of other crimes. Both Darkkon – who Cadel contacts through a secret visual aid – and Roth then convince Cadel to go to Axis Institute, and organization founded by Darkkon to take over the world, which has classes like Alias, Assassination, and Embezzlement. While going there, Cadel maintains an online friendship with a girl whom he soon finds out has cystic fibrosis. With the help of his penpal, he realizes that the life of evil may not be for him. He goes to the police, but is captured by Roth who then claims to be his father. This is where my story starts, and it's a little bit AU, because Cadel decides to leave with Roth, rather than going with the police.

Summary: Artemis Fowl, bored with most teens his own age, finally meets someone who piques his curiosity. Cadel Roth, his new classmate and neighbor, is a soft-spoken teenager, and yet knows systems like a pro. As he gets to know him, Artemis finds himself more and more intrigued by Cadel until he wants nothing more than to solve the secrets that the enigmatic boy has hidden. But is he just a puzzle to Artemis or is he something more?

Disclaimer: If I owned either _Artemis Fowl_ or _Evil Genius_, Artemis and Cadel would have met and made out already.

Warnings: Slash, language, violence, spoilers, AU.

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Prologue

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"Cadel, come with me. Forget about the police, and the Piggots. Forget about Darkkon. _I _am your father, so please come with me." A hand was extended towards a petite boy with chestnut colored hair and soft blue eyes. He hesitated, biting anxiously on his plump lower lip, and stared up at the elderly man who claimed to be his father. A loud thump sounded on the door and shouting was heard.

"_This is the police! Prosper English, Thaddeus Roth, whatever name it is that you are now going by, please come out with your hands up!"_

"Bloody hell," the elderly man muttered under his breath, startling the boy, before he made a quiet hacking sound and turned towards the bolted door. "Just a minute. Please, I don't know what you're talking about and my wife is very scared."

It seemed to buy them just enough time, and the man turned back to his younger companion.

"Please, Cadel," he said again, his voice taking on a desperate edge, and extended a hand to the boy once more. In reply, the boy looked up at his eyes again and, giving his head a little shake as if made dizzy, he placed his own hand in the man's. The man sighed in relief, squeezing the hand gently, before turning to a cowering woman with black teeth. "Get the escape boat ready, Wilfreda!"

The woman gave a shaky nod, gaining back what little control she had in response to the cold calculation in her boss's voice, and ran out to the back where a small, unmarked boat waited for them. She quietly unanchored it and motioned toward her boss, who ran outside, pulling the boy with him. He hissed for his manservant, a young man slightly resembling a fish, to leave everything — namely attempting to murder a boy encased in a spacesuit, to join them. Once all four were in the boat, she sped it up, tugging a few times on its power cord, and it sailed away. Inside the villa, the police finally knocked down the door, only to find it empty.

"Damn, we're too late. Where the hell did they get off to?" one detective, an American sent to Australia specifically for the case, enquired. It was only then that they noticed an all too familiar child's bag on the floor, and many of them paled. "He's got the kid. What do we do now?"

Elsewhere, the boy turned his wavering gaze to the elderly man. He was beginning to regret his decision, but there was no going back now. Not with the police crawling all over the place. He would have to leave with Thaddeus now, and he'd never see Sonja again. His big blue eyes filled with tears at the thought, but he bit them back. Even so, the elderly man noticed, and he stopped long enough in his scheming to give the boy his full attention.

"What's the matter, Cadel?" he asked, voice more soothing than he should be capable of, being the cold blooded killer that he was.

"W-where are we going now, Prosper?" the boy asked, turning large blue eyes and a quivering mouth up to the man. In turn, the man faltered, placing a large hand on top of the chestnut curls.

"Don't worry, my boy. We're heading off to a rather interesting place, one could almost call it magical, and we'll be safe there. Though we might have to lay low for a while." At the boy's questioning look he chuckled, ruffling the soft locks under his hand. "We're going to Ireland."

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A/N: So...what do you think? This is a really short chapter, but it's only the beginning. The next chapter will be the first one, and the infamous and lovable Artemis Fowl will make his appearance. I hope you'll give this story a chance. My personal promise to all readers is that I will use proper grammar and punctuation, unlike a lot of the stories that people write now – this is not to insult anyone specific, but just to say that I notice a lot of mistake-ridden writing. This is also my very first Artemis Fowl fic, so please give me a chance. :)

R&R: Please review if you read and liked the story. Pretty please. I really want to get my readers' opinions. I know sometimes people just read and add to their story alerts, favorites, etc, but I want to get your opinion on this. Tell me if you like something, or even if you hate something, though I'd like constructive criticism, not flames. Oh, and slash means homosexual relationships, so you are pre-warned. Don't read if you don't like.


	2. Arc I

A/N: Hello, all, I hope you're enjoying this story. This chapter is more interesting than the last. It's about Artemis, of course. I did some research to keep him in character. It's hard with Arty. People always make him act too soft, and while he does have a heart, it doesn't react as quickly as his brain does. So yeah, onwards...

Disclaimer: I don't own _Artemis Fowl_ or _Evil Genius_. I got the math problem used _Nick's Mathematical Puzzles 1 to 10_. I know, it isn't all that difficult for people who actually know math, but it made me blank. I'm more of a written word sort of person, myself. The stuff about forgery are the basics from _Wikipedia_ – my best friend, especially when my memory is particularly shot, or memory-wiped. I made up the character of Mr. Veneto, but only for the sake of detail. He isn't important.

Notes on Story: This story takes place pre-_Opal Deception_, but after _The Eternity Code_, so Artemis has been memory-wiped. Fairy stuff will probably cut into the picture later on. Sonja Pirivoc is Cadel's penpal with cystic fibrosis. When she and Cadel chat, he calls himself Stormer and she calls herself El Primo; the false name she used was Kay-lee McDougal, and Cadel used Eiran Dempster. There's a reason for this, but it isn't all that relevant. Cadel is calling himself Cadel Dafydd. Parc Monceau is a park in Paris. I forgot to mention, Vadi came with Wilfreda, Thaddeus, and Cadel. I added him in because I'd initially forgotten.

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Artemis is Intrigued

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Artemis Fowl was bored. He was currently seated in his first period Mathematics class, rifling through a book about the history of art forgery, and generally ignoring his teacher, Mr. Veneto, while he drawled on and on about geometrical figures and their areas. All of the other boys in the class were either listening aptly, nibbling worriedly on their lower lips and squinting at the difficultness of the problems, or deeply asleep, completely unworried about their imminent failures.

Artemis wasn't being snooty when he figured they would fail. In fact, these boys were in his year at Saint Bartleby's School for Young Men, so he had already very carefully observed them all throughout the school, thus developing a probability that predicted their grades. There was a one point five percent chance of his failure to correctly guess, but most of the time he was correct, often right down to the decimal in the hundredth place. This was why he was bored in class. Not only was he beyond advanced when it came to the course work, he'd observed his peers so much that nothing they did surprised him anymore.

"In triangle ABC—" Mr. Veneto was saying, holding the attention of less than fifty percent of the class. In fact, it was exactly forty-seven percent, Artemis had measured, and he, too, was amongst the number of students lacking attention. He let his mind trail off, completely focusing on his book.

'_Carbon dating, used by forensic scientists, is one of the best methods to detect a forged painting,'_ Artemis read, lost in the book. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps interrupted the otherwise quiet classroom, cutting off the teacher's agitated mutters about being ignored yet again.

"The answer," a soft new voice intoned. "is ac(a plus two times b plus c) over b squared minus ac."

A quick, rushed set of murmurs went up at this, and even Artemis looked up, taking in a petite, almost feminine boy standing at the door, looking shy.

"Er, um, and who might you be?" Mr. Veneto began, looking at the newcomer from over his hook nose and skewed spectacles. The boy was about to answer, but Artemis cut him off.

"What was the question, Mr. Veneto? I am afraid I did not catch it?" Artemis asked, vivid blue eyes locked on the elderly teacher as if trying to pin him to the wall. The man swallowed nervously, probably about to ask why it was so important for him to know, but Artemis's cool, level stare cut him off.

"It was, um, it was: _'In triangle ABC, produce a line from B to AC, meeting at D, and from C to AB, meeting at E. Let BD and CE meet at X. Let triangle BXE have an area a, triangle BXC have area b, and triangle CXD have area c. Find the area of the quadrilateral AEXD in terms a, b, and c.' _Is th-that okay, Master Fowl? I ca-can ask another, if you'd like?" he tittered nervously, tugging on his suddenly too-tight collar. But the boy wasn't paying any attention to him, instead rubbing his chin in a thoughtful manner.

"He was right," he murmured to himself, too low for anyone to hear. "And he got the answer instantaneously. Remarkable."

The teacher seemed to grow nervous as his muttering ran on, but Artemis payed him no mind. Finally, when it became apparent that the teenaged boy wouldn't respond, the teacher turned back to the new boy, who still looked a bit anxious, apparently unused to being ignored.

"Let us start again, my boy. Who might you be?" Mr. Veneto asked, hands shaking slightly in front of his chest. Classes with Artemis Fowl were really putting him on edge. This new situation, and how quickly it had caught the young genius's attention, really made his heart quake. The teen standing before him, however, comforted him somewhat when he gave him a soft smile, looking up at him with large blue eyes.

"My name is Cadel Dafydd. I've just moved here from Australia with my grandfather," the boy said softly, though loud enough for the class to hear. Artemis watched him with a scrutinizing blue gaze, but he didn't seem to notice it. The teacher smiled comfortingly at him, and told the rest of the class to be kind to the new transfer.

"Why don't you take a seat next to..." the man began, but trailed off, looking at the only available seat in the class. It was conveniently situated next to Artemis Fowl, as the boy had scared all of the others into staying away from him. Said boy, meeting his nervous gaze, gave a vampiric smile, as if to say _there's nothing you can do about it, so just put him here_. The teacher swallowed a few times nervously before pointing to the empty seat. "..._Artemis Fowl_. Right there. Yes."

Cadel smiled sweetly, happy to finally get a chance to adapt to the class, and walked over to the seat, pointedly ignoring all of the whispers that flitted through the classroom. The class then resumed as if nothing had changed, but something had. Even the unassuming old teacher could feel it. Artemis Fowl had taken an interest in the new boy, was even _smiling_, and the class probably wouldn't resemble normalcy for a while. Mr. Veneto dismissed the class to go talk to the therapist hired by the headmaster to treat victims of Artemis Fowl. To think, a year ago he'd laughed at the stories other teachers had told about the boy. He'd never make _that _mistake again.

* * *

_To: Il Primo_

_From: Stormer_

_Dear, Sonja, it's Cadel. You are probably surprised to hear from me, since it's been a while since I've 'disappeared'. I'm somewhere else now, though I can't tell you exactly where. Not until I know that the police or my enemies won't be able to trace this back to me. I'm with Thaddeus now; you'll be surprised to know that he's confessed to be my father, and his actual name is Prosper English._

_That's why I left with him. I've never felt loved, Sonja. To the Piggots I was just a job, and to Darkkon I was a means to an end. Prosper is different — he cares about me, Sonja. That's why he promised it could be just us now, along with his servants, of course. I might even convince him to give up the life of crime. Maybe the appeal will become stronger as our life of peace drags onward for a while._

_I am a different person from the boy who imitated Eiran Dempster. I want to make friends_ —_ real friends, like you, Sonja. You've always been my best friend, ever since I first started talking to you, ever since I thought you were the nurse Kay-Lee McDougal. And that will never change, Sonja. But now I want to actually try to make friends, instead of just writing people off for being stupider than me. I was the one who was actually being stupid. I took the first step today, when I asked Prosper to enroll me in a highschool again (though he made me enroll in private school, at the very least.)_

_The classes were all right, even though I appear a lot younger than a lot of the other boys, and the classes are still too easy. My looks throw them off, I think, which is a good thing. I want a new start here. There's only one thing that worries me, though. I've felt watched ever since I started in my new school. Do you think _**they **_might have found me? I hope not._

_I'll try to contact you again soon, Sonja. Please don't worry; this won't be the last you hear of me. Someday, when I know that I've become worthy to be your friend, I will return, and I'll take you out of those run down facilities they put you in. You and I can live somewhere beautiful, Sonja. We can play chess all day in Parc Monceau, or anywhere else you want, till the sun sets. Wait for me, Sonja._

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A/N: So this is it. Chapter one, in all its glory. How is it? Good? Bad? Be brutally honest with me. Like I said before, this is my first Artemis Fowl fic and I want to do a good job. On a different note, isn't Cadel cute? I just love everything about him.

Thank you: Everyone who read, enjoyed, reviewed, and even anyone who didn't. I hope y'all will enjoy this, and I promise to try my hardest to appease you. Oh, and don't be put off by the whole Sonja thing. Cadel loves Sonja, that was always very obvious, but to me it seemed to be more of a best friend love. The pairing is still between our two genii.

Iriena Kurotsuki: Do you still want to beta this? If so, how will it work? I had a beta for an old fiction, and I basically just emailed my chapters to her, so she could fix it up. Yeah, I'm clueless, but I wouldn't mind having someone check it again, just to make sure it's perfect.

Aviatorlisa: Artemis Fowl and Evil Genius are really good books, but they're not really older, classical books. But it's okay, I'll describe all info for the fic, so pretend it's an original fic (which is not to say I'm claiming ownership rights for either of the novels.) ;)

R&R: I don't know when I'll next update. I'm lacking inspiration. Hopefully soon. Can't say, because it really depends on what turn my mercurial emotions take. But I would love — no really, I'd love nothing more — it if everyone who read and enjoyed could leave me some feedback, because that would definitely inspire me a bit more. It tells me what I'm doing right, wrong, etc. So please, it takes less than a minute to leave me a two sentence review saying _'I liked...'_ but _'I thought ... could be better.'_ Please review!


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